Civil War Photography Exhibit “Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory” Travels to Raleigh and Mooresville Libraries for March Display

RALEIGH – Destruction was felt around homes and communities in North Carolina as backyards were turned into battlefields during the Civil War (1861-1865). Widespread suffering impacted all North Carolinians regardless of race, class and gender.

The involvement of Confederate soldiers, African Americans and women is depicted in the “Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory: Civil War Sesquicentennial Photography Exhibit”(www.nccivilwar150.com), which will visit the Cameron Village Branch of the Wake County Public Library system March 3-29 in Raleigh and the Mooresville Public Library March 5-29.

“The Civil War occurred when photography was just becoming popular and became the first conflict to be widely recorded in this manner,” explains N.C. State Historic Sites Division Director Keith Hardison. “Battlefield images fascinated the public and acquainted them, in a dramatic way, with the horrors of war. The ‘Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory’exhibit presents images that compare and contrast the conditions of war, then and now.”

The exhibit will honor North Carolinians and their dedication throughout the Civil War with images gathered from the State Archives (www.archives.ncdcr.gov), the N.C. Museum of History (www.ncmuseumofhistory.org) and State Historic Sites (www.nchistoricsites.org). A total of 24 images will be displayed by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (www.ncdcr.gov) in 50 libraries and four museums throughout the state on simultaneous eastern and western routes from April 2011 through May 2013. A notebook will accompany the exhibit with further information and also seeking viewer comments.

The collection depicts those involved in the war and includes images of artifacts and official documents. Amy Harper is one woman featured in the exhibit who exemplifies the hardships for women and families. The Johnston County home of Amy Harper’s family was converted to a field hospital during the Battle of Bentonville March 19-21, 1865, where more than 500 wounded soldiers received care. Today the Harper House still stands and can be visited at the Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site near Four Oaks.

For information on the exhibit call the Wake County library at (919) 856-6710 or the Mooresville Library at 704-664-2927. For tour information contact the Department of Cultural Resources at (919) 807-7389.